19 May 2009

The $5-million billboard. Was it worth it?

This is the billboard behind Woody Allen's lawsuit against American Apparel. The line in Hebrew across the top says, "The Holy Rabbi."

Allen filed the suit last year, claiming the clothing retailer had used this photo from "Annie Hall" without his permission.

American Apparel used the First Amendment argument -- and suggested that Allen's worth as a celebrity endorser wasn't much given the child molesting allegations and all. (The judge decided the evidence regarding the child molestation accusation was "inconclusive.")

Allen and American Apparel settled out of court when American Apparel agreed to pay Allen $5 million -- a settlement American Apparel claims was insisted upon by the retailer's insurance company.

American Apparel obviously wanted controversy, but they didn't get the kind they wanted.

Woody Allen is in his 70s. "Annie Hall" was released in the 1970s. If the young hipsters American Apparel is after had any reaction at all to the billboard and ensuing lawsuit, it was likely a yawn.